fbpx

Type to search

Yellen Set for Talks in Bali with PBOC Governor Yi Gang

US Treasury officials said Yellen was keen to discuss China’s plans to ease its Covid restrictions and how it will deal with problems in its property sector when they get together.


Governor of People's Bank of China (PBOC) Yi Gang attends a news conference on China's economic development ahead of the 70th anniversary of its founding, in Beijing
The US-educated central bank chief Yi Gang, appointed PBOC governor in 2018, had widely been expected to retire. Photo: Reuters

 

While President Joe Biden is expected to talk to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Bali on Monday, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is due to meet Yi Gang, governor of the People’s Bank of China.

US Treasury officials said on Sunday that Yellen was keen to discuss China’s plans to ease its Covid restrictions and how it will deal with problems in its property sector when they get together.

The officials told reporters in Bali, ahead of a summit of the Group of 20 big economies, it was important for top economic officials from the world’s two largest economies to discuss global challenges face to face and learn more about each other’s policy plans.

Yellen is prepared to discuss with Peoples Bank of China Governor Yi Gang the outlook for US inflation and growth, but will likely leave monetary policy plans to the Federal Reserve, the officials said.

The administration of President Joe Biden has long raised concerns about the resilience of supply chains in China that have been hit by repeated Covid-19 lockdowns and growing national security restrictions.

ALSO SEE:

FTX Hit by ‘Rogue’ $515m Crypto Outflows After Collapse

 

 

 

US Keen to Balance Ties With Beijing

In India last week, Yellen made a case for closer ties between the world’s two largest democracies, with India taking on a “friend-shoring” role as a trusted supplier and counterweight to China.

Yellen’s meeting with Yi, comes on the same day that Biden will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping in an effort to limit a recent downward spiral of the superpowers’ relations.

The Treasury officials said they do not plan to offer advice to China on its Covid restrictions or its property sector woes, but to understand Chinese officials’ approach so they can better interpret the impact of policy changes.

Yellen also will also meet with French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and new Italian Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti.

Among key discussion topics for these meetings will be their outlook for energy challenges during what is expected to be a difficult winter for Europe, the officials said.

Yellen also will urge her European counterparts to keep up strong fiscal support for Ukraine in a transparent and predictable way, the officials said.

 

  • Reuters with additional editing by Jim Pollard

 

 

ALSO SEE:

 

Covid Cases Rise Further in China’s Guangzhou, Zhengzhou

 

End the Nightmare in Myanmar, UN Chief Urges ASEAN Leaders

 

China Evergrande HQ Land up For Sale at $1 Billion

 

US Crackdown on China ‘Slave Labour’ Blocks Solar Projects

 

 

Jim Pollard

Jim Pollard is an Australian journalist based in Thailand since 1999. He worked for News Ltd papers in Sydney, Perth, London and Melbourne before travelling through SE Asia in the late 90s. He was a senior editor at The Nation for 17+ years.